Last night, Bill and I recorded an episode with Firebase Delta, talking about all of our events at the 2016 NOVA Open. In some ways, it was similar to our interview Man Battlestations, but we covered some new ground, as we've made further progress on our NOVA preparations.

​For me, the focus is still on producing the GT Terrain Packets. I finished Scenario 2 - Secure the Trade Lane today; it is available for download in the NOVA 2016 section. While drawing this diagram, I realized I had used 9" Gas Clouds in 2 of the 3 Scenarios. After discussing this with Bill, they have all been reduced to 8" diameter Gas Clouds. This allows three important things:

Maintains the ability for participants to print out all the required terrain templates on 8.5" x 11" or A4 Paper.

Terrain consistency means Bill and I won't need as many terrain templates

Gets the Gas Cloud out of the Objective denial zone, which would potentially make a small safe spot for someone to contest the objective from... which is not my objective for this Scenario.

​I think this Scenario is the best one, as it's basically Hold the Waypoints from the rulebook, but with the Waypoints and Terrain laid out to make the scenario challenging. Specifically, the area around the Objective is free from any terrain you'd want to hide inside, which makes it dangerous to hold the Objective. More importantly, I specifically designed this table along a theme. This is a shipping lane, and ships must travel from one way point to the next in order to transit between systems... so the way would be cleared. However, all of the surrounding space would be in its natural state.

​That's why there is a very wide and clear fire line between the Objectives; holding the Objectives should be risky for both players, to keep things balanced (remember, you get +1 Battlelog for each turn you hold an Objective). However, its also pretty easy for your opponent to either contest the Objective, or simply blow your holding squadron off the Objective. This should lead to a lot of different strategies on how to play this Scenario. In theory, its entirely balanced, and everyone will need to play to their fleet's strengths to succeed.

​While working on this, I've been troubled by my last table design for Scenario 1. This table has probably been redesigned 5 times now, and I'm still not happy with it. I had removed the LOS blocking terrain between deployment zones last time in a fury of terrain adjustment, and I think it's really important to not have direct LOS between deployment zones. I want players to maneuver and explore the table, not just duke it out across the short table edge. So, I added two new LOS blockers in the middle of each table edge. There is still some LOS between deployment zones, but its a fairly narrow channel, so if you want to hide for the first turn or two (cleverly waiting for your Tier 1 to arrive automatically on Turn 3) you can easily do so, even if you activate second.

​However, I feel like this design has been out for a while, and I really don't want to ret-con it. My instinct is to change it anyway, but I'd really appreciate your feedback on which table design to use, and why. This Event is for you.

​Next week I'll be posting the Terrain Packet for Scenario 3. This will require a four-piece template for the central terrain feature: a small planet with a rubble ring. Rubble is just like Debris, but without the d6 event table. At Adepticon, we'll be using a two piece template, as I'm ok using 11x17 paper for the main event, but my intent is for everyone to have an equal opportunity to practice these Scenarios in Tournament conditions. A level playing field is very important for competition.​​Until next time!